By: Chandrashekar Bhat
THE MAYOR of Crawley allegedly punched a cabbie “unconscious” in a road rage attack that has threatened his job.
In a video widely shared on social media , Shahzad Abbas Malik, who also works as a part-time taxi driver, can be seen wrestling with the cabbie in the middle of the road at Tushmore roundabout in Crawley town centre.
The cabbie suffered injuries to his head and arm in the incident, according to police.
The incident apparently took place as Malik objected to the cabbie when he cut into his lane while taking a U-turn, The Sun said, citing a witness.
The duo wound down their windows and started shouting at each other and the verbal exchanges escalated into a physical fight.
Passers-by did not intervene as the brawl looked personal, the witness said.
“It looked like they knew each other, but it was all because the other bloke tried to cut him up at the roundabout… It didn’t last long and they just got back into their cabs and drove off, screaming at each other in the end.”
A Crawley Borough Council spokeswoman said an incident did take place involving two taxi drivers on July 19 and Sussex police were investigating it.
Duncan Crow, who heads the Conservative group of councillors in Crawley, called for Malik’s resignation.
“Everyone in Crawley knows it’s him in the video and the behaviour he displayed at one of Crawley’s busiest roundabouts is wholly incompatible with being our Mayor, a role where one should lead by example. You just can’t be fighting like a hooligan one week and then attending a children’s football event the next week and be presented as a role model,” he told The Sun.
“This has been dragging on for over two weeks and if the Crawley Labour group of councillors won’t act to remove him, then Keir Starmer needs to step in.”
Elected from the Langley Green and Tushmore ward, Malik became mayor in June. He is married with three children.
